Service
by Crosswood
Summary: How the simplest questions in the English language can be used to explain even the trickiest concepts. Ami/Mako,  eventually  six situations, Silver Millennium.
1. Chapter 1

"_I keep six honest serving-men  
(They taught me all I knew);  
Their names are What and Why and When  
And How and Where and Who.__"_

_-Rudyard Kipling, _'The Elephant Child'

* * *

**Who**

The Princess of Mercury was out of her depth.

Oh, but it had seemed like such a _good _plan when the Queen had suggested it: a gentle instruction to exit the libraries, to go out into the Mercurian sunshine, and to make the important foreign royal feel at home. It had all been so… so _logical_.

Now the young Princess was a deer caught out in the open. All her vaunted intelligence was powerless to help her – there was no computer she could turn to here, no strategy to plan, no books to consult. There was only one way out.

Curious eyes peered at her from every hidden corner of the palace stables. The bolder hands pointedly cleaned tack or swept the floors in plain view, sneaking glances occasionally when they thought she wasn't looking. She didn't blame them really – they didn't see her very much… or at all. Mercury hadn't stepped foot in the stables for years. The absence had been an entirely voluntary decision, based on a rational allocation of her time, and of course had _nothing to do _with that first riding attempt a couple of years ago. Mercury only barely kept from sighing at the memory.

_I must ask Mother if she will stop amusing her guests with that story. _

Her soldier-sharp vision caught the flickering movements of people scrambling for a better view - the hands were not so subtle really – but the hush remained complete. The quiet was unnatural, a small crowd collectively holding its breath, thick enough to cut.

Mercury stifled another sigh.

The head groom, poor soul, was shifting his weight restively from one foot to the other. Bushy eyebrows and craggy brows served to half-hide nervousness, but his anxious fidgeting left no doubt the man was not happy. His fingers clenched and unclenched. Splotchy red drained to pallid white and back again. Had she not been so distracted, Mercury would have felt a deep sympathy for him; he obviously remembered her last riding attempt as well, and would most likely be the one who would pay if she was injured again.

However Mercury _was _distracted. His fears had to take second place – her mind had her own to deal with. A deep breath was taken. Calming thoughts were contemplated.

_I_ _am not a child. I am a soldier. I am prepared_.

The horse chose this moment nicker softly at her with a breath that smelt of moist grass, and Mercurian grain. It loomed there, big and brown. Big was a good word for it. Very big. Very brown. Much bigger and browner than expected, actually - static pictures and dry numbers simply didn't do it any justice. More than that though, this creature was moving with subtle twitches and flickers, alive in a way no book could ever have described. Dappled sunlight fell through the wide doors of the stable to light its coat, threads of gold trickling through its mane. Spotless tack beckoned. A sturdy mounting block lay innocently beside it. Mercury supposed she should get on.

With that horrible sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach, the little Princess knew that 'should do' and 'ought to' had nothing to do with anything. She was a soldier, a loyal subject, a good daughter. Only one verb construction was possible: 'Would do'. She _would_ get on the creature, and she _would_ like it.

The Princess eyed the horse dubiously. The horse eyed her dubiously back. Liquid brown eyes locked onto icy blue - a challenge laid down, and accepted - man and beast locked into an epic contest of wills. Neither competitor blinked, or moved, or gave an inch.

Into this atmosphere of impending doom, the head groom swallowed, and bravely did his duty.

"M'lady?" His drawled voice reverberated like crushed gravel.

Mercury ignored this in favour of frowning heavily. _This is a good plan_, she told herself sternly. _The Princess of Jupiter loves horses__…__ Mother herself ordered me to take her to the deep craters__…__yes, that horse is_ definitely _big enough to eat me_…

Mercury quickly crushed that last thought. She was _not _afraid. It was just a horse; _Equus ferus caballus_ – a gentle herbivore long since domesticated. Even more to the point, this particular one (the groom had assured her) was gentle and fright-proof enough for even the least competent rider to successfully master. That included her.

_It__'__s now or never._

She edged around the monster, cautiously pausing just next to the groom. If something went wrong, he definitely had a better chance of saving the situation than her. The horse followed her curiously, the long nose bridging air to get a better sniff. Its breath whuffed gently across her face again, before the bulk of the horse danced closer. One hoof pawed the air a few times before it landed back on the flagstones with a businesslike _clop_. Mercury involuntarily shied back. _Ok, so it__'__s very close now__…__ no, don__'__t panic__…__ok, good, yes, so__…__ how does one get their horse to like them again?_

The roughly calloused hand of the groom brushed hers. Into slender fingers a gritty, sticky lump of sugar was slipped.

_Oh yes._ Mercury thought with relief. _Bribery. _She solemnly fed the creature the sugar. The horse solemnly ate it. Then it less solemnly went looking for more. Muffled titters broke out as the bay horse fearlessly lipped at short hair, snuffled at pockets, chewed slightly on a sleeve cuff.

The groom once again saved the day by giving the horse a distracted swat. "That's enough o' that." He then smiled encouragingly at his young Princess – although his tension was such that it was more of a grimace, and would have alarmed small children. It was the expression of a man watching his planet's irreplaceable key to political stability about to climb aboard transportation with a mind of its own and no seatbelt.

The stirrup gleamed.

Mercury took a deep breath.

She climbed aboard.

If anything this bold action only seemed to increase the grooms' worry. A few seconds though, and the fleeting terror she'd seen flash across his face faded somewhat as she kept her seat, and the horse remained completely placid. His grip on the lead-line slackened. Half learned lessons from long ago bubbled up in a remarkably well-organised mind. An experimental touch of her knees, a soft huff from the horse, and suddenly they were both moving forward. Tack jingled. Dust danced.

Mercury wasn't paying any particular attention to the tack, or the doors, or the dust. The unfamiliar motion was rocking her back and forth, resonance feeding into her sway, until instinctively her body found the right rhythm to counter it. When she had gathered herself enough to look about, they were both outside, they were still moving forward, and she was still atop the horse. The groom was watching her go, looking cautiously pleased. A gentle sighing followed her, as if a crowd had released a great collective breath of relief. Really, it was all going rather well.

Mercury was feeling pretty pleased with the whole event really, as her horse walked placidly in the dark sunshine. Rock fields stretched away into the distance. Blue eyes admired their elegance's, their bleakness, and she automatically catalogued each mineral as the track wended into the lee of some dunes. The glittering towers of the city disappeared;, an illusion of isolation. A weight lifted from Mercury's shoulders; her mind drifted off. She spent several minutes just dreaming, the motion of the horse soothed into familiarity, warm leather saddle creaking gently. The horse rounded another spur; Mercury was contemplating a particularity interesting crater formation, before a blur of motion caught her eye. Then she was too entranced to think much of anything.

Along the basaltic sand, right at the edge of the _Pantheon Fossa_, a rider was flying. Made small by distance, the lightly-built horse was running freely, its uncropped tail whipping away in the wind; the rider's brown hair was streaming out in an unconscious echo of it. Clinging like a limpet to the horse's back, that rider appeared effortless, absorbing the motion of the horse's stride despite the lack of stirrups or saddle. Faint laughter drifted across the rocky plain, bright and joyful despite the distance. Mercury involuntarily smiled.

Perhaps that figure noticed some small motion from the corner of her eye, but the horse's reckless gallop was brought gradually down to more sensible speeds and the course altered towards Mercury; the later let her own horse come to a natural stop. Clearly the better rider was coming to her – why should she embarrass herself by pretending knowledge she didn't have? Still… Mercury was still young… and only human. Envy coloured her thoughts for a moment as she watched the crisp control displayed by the other soldier - for who else could the rider be but the Princess of Jupiter? That stallion had been slowed to a walk now, and was being allowed to pick its way carefully over a patch of broken rock above the road.

Little things sometimes become important things - in this case it was nothing more than a highly-strung stallion, a treacherous path, and a little chip of loose rock. One stone slid, became two - two bounced and tumbled, unleashing more, together making such a clattering as fit to wake the dead. Rocks spilled across that narrow track in a spray of chips and chunks – scary, but far enough away that any rational creature would simply admire the event.

Such a shame that a horse has never been a rational creature. Skittish, and already upset by the tenseness of its rider, the big bay shied sideways and away from the clearly horse-murdering noise. The Princess of Mercury had just enough presence of mind to feel blank surprise before gravity grabbed her and yanked.

A high-pitched yell split the air. It hadn't come from Mercury – she was to busy lying winded on the ground. The other rider had seen the fall and had quickened her pace, urging her horse down the slope, sending more dust into the still air. Mercury wheezed and coughed, rolling onto her side and glaring through narrowed eyes at her horse. The bay had stopped only a few meters away, calmly snuffling about the rocks, completely calm again. The reigns hung temptingly down towards the ground, taunting. Mercury pulled herself to her feet, slowly. After a very long, exhausting day, she had finally reached her limit.

Enough. _Enough!_ She whirled upon her horse. A quick lunge. An embarrassing miss. A stumbling dance as the animal pranced away. Mercury blushed hotly, mortification mixing with the pain to produce an uncharacteristic, simmering anger.

Those other hoofbeats had stopped with a light _thud _and a gentle spray of dust, but Mercury didn't trust herself to turn around. There was a charged pause. Booted feet hit sandy ground. A calloused hand lightly touched her shoulder.

"Are you alright?"

Mercury closed her eyes and fought for control. _Not her fault. Not her fault._

That husky voice murmured again. Hesitation coloured every word. "You…you took a bit of a fall there."

Mercury's hands clenched into fists. "I'm fine, thank you."

There was another slight pause and the hand drew back. "Would you like… should I go get the horse?"

"No."

There was the sound of shuffling feet. "…It's… it's a bit tricky if you don't know what you're doing… it's no…"

"_I told you I__'__m fine_!" Mercury turned, fire in her eyes, and got a look at her new comrade for the first time – but alas, not for long. Jupiter had recoiled as if slapped. Hurt bloomed deep in jade green eyes.

"Right… well, I'll just…" Jupiter backed away carefully, towards her stallion.

Guilt deflated Mercury's anger like a pricked balloon. "No, wait, I mean…!"

"No, no… " Jupiter waved her hands anxiously. "I'll just… sorry to bother."

With a flash of brown, the other Princess leapt onto her steed and was gone.

Mercury watched her go.

"Not you." She murmured sadly. "Not you."

She was still sitting there when the grooms found her four hours later.

* * *

Disclaimer: Sailor Moon isn't mine in any shape, way, or form... and nor is Kipling.

Authors Note: Part one down. Five more questions to go. If anyone's got any ideas they'd like to see, I'm receptive (although I've got it pretty well roughed out). Flick me a message.

OH! And before you go... boy would I appreciate you singing out if you've got any thoughts, corrections, criticisms… even random nonsequential statements are magical.

Finally - this (utterly unworthy) story is dedicated to the rather excellent person who suggested I write something again: the **MadHattess**. This writer also generously gave her time to Beta this silly thing – and she did a fantastic job. It goes without saying that any mistakes you find subsequently are entirely mine.

_Thanks Taz – not just for this, but for everything. Words aren't enough._

**This message is if you're NOT the** MadHattess,** and you haven't read anything by her: AAAARRRRGGGHH! You're wasting time here when you should be there! **… **AAAARRRRGGGHH**!


	2. Chapter 2

AN: **Listens to the crickets chirp** Well. That response was deafening. XD, it's a good thing I'm only writing for my own (and one other person's) amusement, isn't it?

Disclaimer: I actually, seriously don't own this stuff.

* * *

_How_

It took a year to mend fences so carelessly trampled. Jupiter was a good sort, and Mercury certainly felt guilty enough for anyone, but sometimes even the best intentions in the world take a while to work. In this particular case, those intentions took even longer - Jupiter, after all, lived very far away. It took a year. A year in which every formal greeting was carefully crafted to hide slight hesitation; a year spent ignoring the uncertainty that tinged Jupiter's eyes in every communiqué; a little less than a year spent quietly fearing that inevitable second meeting as comrades on the Moon. The remainder of that year was spent dreading the awkwardness which still rode the air between them. Some wounds took longer to heal than others. Mercury let it lie.

This particular night was peaceful, though - quiet and still. The distant rumble of a departing shuttle rolled and faded into silence. Darkness had fallen sweetly over the shining columns of the Moon Kingdom, embracing the realm like an old friend. The rest of the court lay long abed, and truly Mercury should have been as well – her eyes were heavy and as she moved her feet shambled and kicked at the smooth, stone floor – but sometimes sleep was less important than an interesting puzzle. Sometimes sleep was less important than things that should be, but weren't.

She smoothed a hand over feather-light paper. The manuscript rustled in response. Lines of text and shapes trailed under her fingers, her fatigue melting the intended significance into simple angular meaninglessness. She blinked slowly, and smoothed the page down again, focusing. A few scattered words caught her eye, resolving the rest into clarity. Aha! The basic maths textbook! – an older copy as well… she hadn't seen this one for a while. Maths was a strong suit of hers, and she was so far advanced past this poor book that even boredom couldn't have persuaded her to read it again. No; a couple of algebraic unknowns were hardly the real puzzle here. Mercury's eyes travelled sideways.

A translucent puddle of drool spread across the innocent pages, the damp gently dissolving the right-angled triangles, as the Princess of Jupiter slept like the proverbial rock. The lamp on the table burned dimly, throwing a mellow light over everything. Mercury considered the whole picture. A gentle hand caressed the book-binding again.

The taller soldier seemed oblivious to her surroundings. She breathed deeply, evenly, with only occasional snuffling courtesy of a broken (then poorly set) crooked nose. Her random, harsh snorting was the only sound that broke the heavy stillness of the library.

That broken nose had been her fault, Mercury knew. Well… her fault, and also not her fault. Jupiter should have known that with the Solider of Ice beside her, that her flank was guarded well enough. They should have been a team.

Mercury winced. Jupiter's enormous firepower was akin a battering ram, to be pointed at the immediate front and unleashed. Mercury was a defensive asset, a thinker and a planner. She had fulfilled her duties perfectly during the exercise - had been there waiting, ready and willing, to protect her ally – if only Jupiter had believed it. The simulated training had come to nothing – the swarm of training robots had broken the wavering, weakening centre of their formation. Mercury still flinched at the memory of that sickening _crack_, and the spray of bright blood in the morning sunshine.

Jupiter's breathing chose that moment to labour, producing a particularity inelegant snort, and Mercury eyed the nose again. For all her gentle strength, Jupiter had been angry that day, angry at her own perceived failure – angry enough to snap and snarl and threaten swift death to anyone who tried to mend the break.

Normally, thought Mercury (channelling her inner doctor) not touching it was actually a reasonable plan. Ice it up, leave it be, let it heal. Jupiter had brushed off hesitant suggestions of resetting it with a careless kind of impatience, defying the dribbles of red that trickled over the green piping of her uniform. Now she was asleep. With the fire in her eyes dimmed and her natural restlessness stilled, Mercury could see the lines of the cartilage clearly and was slightly worried about it. It wasn't straight. It might heal wrong. She shifted the book slightly, tilting the other soldier's head back, trying to get a better look.

One plus of staring intently at a person's nose while they are sleeping is that said nose is (generally speaking) remarkably close to their eyes. This meant that Mercury noticed straight away when those green eyes snapped open to stare at her with complete and total bewilderment. Eyes locked. There was a pregnant silence.

Jupiter's face scrunched up in comical confusion. "Not a clue."

Mercury started slightly. "I'm sorry?"

Jupiter lifted her head from the desk, peeling the book's pages off one cheek with a truly cockeyed dignity. She looked back at Mercury with puzzled, blurry eyes. "I have honestly no idea what is going on here. I haven't a clue."

Mercury let those reasonable words soak through her fatigue-numbed mind. "Ah."

Jupiter waited patiently, dragging her chair round, watching Mercury with an encouraging expression. Silence fell, thick and heavy over the stacks. Dust settled. The lamp burned on.

Mercury let her tired mind wander again, focusing on the break, mentally tracing the patterns of broken cartilage and mapping the angles needed to realign them. It was a simple exercise – her supernatural speed and strength had caused several unfortunate accidents in the past, when she had first trained with her mother's guardsmen. She had plenty of useful experience. A simple adjustment - place the thumb and forefinger like so, apply lateral pressure, stem bleeding…

She came back to herself with the sound of a deliberately cleared throat. Jupiter was looking tiredly amused. "You're drifting, Your Highness."

"I'm sorry?" Mercury managed again.

"Could you tell me why you're here?" Jupiter narrowed her eyes in a not-unfriendly way. "It's very late… and don't we have dancing lessons tomorrow with that Claudio guy?" She waved her arms in a motion which implied dancing, without said gesture resembling anything in the way of grace or coordination.

Mercury looked at Jupiter again, ignoring the flailing, and from nowhere a strange impulse bubbled up from within her. "I've come to fix it."

Jupiter blinked, puzzled again. "You've come to do what now?"

Mercury locked eyes with the other Princess, stepping uncomfortably close. Jupiter leaned back in her chair, scooting it back against the heavy desk. Trapped.

"Not what," Mercury said absently, kneeling and reaching a slender hand up to frame that busted nose. "How."

Green eyes widened in understanding - and then that damn hesitation again. Mercury waited patiently. Expressions flickered across the other soldier's face – uncertainty and surprise, concern and wistfulness, melting so quickly into each other that it was difficult to spot when one began and another ended. Resistance ceased. Hands half raised to fend her off dropped, folding neatly, underscoring generous assets. Jupiter's face stabilised on 'wary-but-accepting'. She didn't go so far as to nod, but it was enough.

Mercury ran light fingers over that slender, crooked nose, feeling what shape it wanted to be. Then she struck. There was another sharp _crack_, another anguished howl - the echoes sank into the surrounding books before they ever were. Jupiter leapt to her feet, cursing fluently in at least three languages. Mercury leaned back, grabbing a handkerchief from a practical pocket, quickly passing it over.

"'annk 'oo," said Jupiter, clasping it to her bleeding nose, her face a picture of misery.

Mercury rose onto her tip-toes, looking carefully over her handiwork, before nodding with professional approval. "Ice, painkillers, rest." She settled back, and once again found the teary, puffy eyes of Jupiter

Jupiter nodded weakly. "'annk 'oo," she said again, and then she grimaced ruefully.

Mercury smiled back apologetically. "I'm sorry," she said, "but if it had healed crooked you might have had problems breathing."

"''ss alr'gh'." Jupiter glanced down at her slimy, bloody maths textbook and made a face. Normally that face would have been comical, and it was still probably intended to be. With all the blood and snot running down her face, however, it now looked remarkably horrific. Mercury followed her gaze to the thoroughly ruined section on Cosines.

"It can be a bit tricky if you don't know what you're doing, can't it?" she said wistfully, suddenly utterly exhausted.

Jupiter glanced back at her companion and shrugged. "'eah."

Silence fell again, but it was not an uncomfortable one. Jupiter stood still, watching Mercury through her sniffles and the sodden handkerchief. Mercury, in return, slumped slightly – maintaining her posture was becoming a chore. Bright green eyes watched and noted. Then they came to a decision.

"'ime to 'o. 'oo 'ix'd it."

Mercury blinked, struggling back to awareness. "Time to… fixed what?"

Those green eyes laughed at her. "N't what. 'ow." Then Jupiter smiled.

Without hesitation, Mercury smiled back.

* * *

AN: Again, this silly thing is for Taz. When they were making this rather excellent person, someone stacked Awesome into a human-shaped pile and then poured Win all over it.

She also very kindly Beta'd this thing – she did a bloody good job. If you find mistakes, that's my fault and were probably added later.

Again, reviews would be very nice indeed, but it seems it is not to be. XD


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: It is mine. HA! How do you like _them_ apples? ((Don't believe me? Didn't think so - but worth a shot. Not actually mine.))

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* * *

_

**Why**

The first portal had opened up underneath a farmer's grain silo, and then had promptly begun belching demons.

That farmer had been lucky enough to escape with his life. It was his cows that had warned him; their lifeless bodies lay dark against the green field. He hadn't stuck around to find out what was wrong – he had run instead, and wisely so.

Now these… these _things… _these crawling twisted creatures that writhed under the bright spring sunshine – these creatures fought and died at the hands of the Inner Senshi.

Thoughts chased each other through Mercury's head as she watched. She remained motionless, crouched behind flowering shrubbery, fighting back her sense of surrealism. The detachment was helpful as she contemplated potential plans, but losing focus in a warzone would get her killed. Best to stay in the here and now, and right _now_ those monsters definitely had to die. That the creatures already on the Moon would die today was a given – and if the problem had been that simple then Mercury would already be fighting. But it wasn't that simple - no. The real trouble was that open portal_. _

Mercury carefully extended her awareness outwards, keeping one eye on her Head's Up Display, scanning for enemy trying to probe their position. The leafy greenery of the hedge provided concealment for her, but if an attack went astray it would certainly provide no cover. The others didn't have any concealment at all – monsters swarmed around them like particularly loathsome flies. They needed a plan - preferably now.

Unbidden, her computer threw up range information for her allies, arrows and distances pinpointing their current locations. Mercury risked a quick glance to confirm it.

Roughly sixty meters to her right, Mars crouched in a drainage ditch (protecting Moon, Mercury noted with approval); fire rained down on twisted shapes, and black forms flared briefly blacker before disintegrating into a pile of char. Twenty meters out in front, Venus had her chain wrapped around a particularity ugly shadow and was kicking it violently. Venus was easily the most exposed of the team, having raced out to claim the spot of most danger; Mercury was quite worried about it. Their leader was fighting right in the shadow of the grain silo, at the very edge of the portal itself – doggedly cutting off the flow of reinforcements so that the other Soldiers had a chance to deal with the rest. Venus'd need help soon, or a call to retreat. Mercury tracked her eyes sideways, ripping her mind away from the tactical situation of the centre. Over to the left (in the stubble of what once had been a living wheat field), Jupiter was holding the flank, dancing with her lightning. Electricity lashed out from splayed fingers and flashes blinded any attempt to watch.

Mercury was having difficulty focusing in this, her first real battle. It had never occurred to her that watching comrades... watching _friends _walk into harm's way would affect her emotions so badly. She'd never had real friends before, and now she had four – chaos multiplied, tipping her ordered life upside down, leaving contentment in their wake. _Peace._

Her thoughts only made the violence of the present battle all the worse.

Mercury was afraid. She knew she was the planner, she knew her job was to sit and watch and wait (her stomach agreed with this by feeling unsettlingly queasy)... but she was a soldier as well, and her heart was telling her to go – to charge, to stop the fight no matter the cost.

At least Jupiter seemed to be enjoying it. Mercury narrowed her eyes, flicking them around once more in search of threats, her mind drifting despite the screams and death.

_Jup's a good friend._ Mercury smiled involuntarily at that thought, automatically re-checking the scrolling HUD data. In front of her, a partially destroyed monster screamed in agony, its lips burning away in Mars' fire. Mercury found her eyes skidding away from it, and her thoughts clinging to other topics: bright, happy images. _Jup commiserating with me over that last assignment. Jup_ _pushing me into the palace fountain and then blaming the guards. Jup showing up with a plate of cakes, accidentally throwing flour all over the floor_…

Mercury's mind seized on that thought, and sound returned to her world. Her eyes widened at the carnage around her, but that was secondary, secondary. Something was tickling the back of her brain, some germ of an idea. Something about cake_. What would it be about cake that would niggle like..._

Mercury abruptly drew breath.

…_the flour. _

She snapped her visor on, mind clearing, purposeful again. The computer seemed to load so slowly, so very slowly; Mercury cursed it soundly before it booted. Then she was occupied frantically leafing through information… searching… searching…searching…

…_there! _

Her eyes widened as she ran through calculations of mass and volume, blast radiuses and potential forces. It could work. It was bound to work. It would work.

_Time to go._

The Princess of Mercury leapt out of the hedge at a dead run, toggling her communicator and snapping the plan out to Mars, silently thanking every sadistic trainer she had ever had. The next time she drew breath it was to shout a single name.

"VENUS!"

Their fearless, beautiful leader cursed a blue streak as she executed a perfect tumble-roll underneath a monster's wild swing. Otherwise there was no response.

Mercury paused just long enough to ice a putrid monster (which proceeded to burst like a sack-full of black pus). Then she kept running, past the leaking dead demon, covering the twenty metres in mere heartbeats. "VENUS! I have an idea! _Keep them off me!_"

This time, in return, she was thrown a brief incredulous look - _what are…? _– before more pressing issues once again claimed Venus' attention. Her gleaming chain hummed and whistled and cracked, and where it flicked the monsters died. A small space was cleared. It was enough.

Mercury ran to the very edge of the pit, involuntarily retching at the rotting-sweet stench. The round metal of the grain-silo arced away above her, but underneath it the blackness was hungry, sucking in her eyes. She dragged her gaze away with a physical wrench to grab at smooth metal - to drag eager fingers over the closest leg that made up the tripod of the silo's base.

_Yes. Yes. It can be done._

Apparently though, it couldn't be done fast enough for Venus. "Whatever it is you're doing..." a claw clashed with chain as Venus desperately blocked. "Hurry up Mercury!" The sweat was clearly visible running down her face. "_I strongly suggest you hurry up!"_

Mercury placed two hands on the leg and concentrated on the feeling of _cold_. Power flowed through her and into the metal. Beneath her hands a sheen of frost appeared, and there was a faint _plink _as the tube contracted slightly.

Other than that (disappointingly) nothing happened.

"It's not…" Mercury began, before she stopped and grit her teeth. With the next breath she _poured_ power into the metal; she _smashed_ the energy in, no finesse, just willing and praying and pleading for that one stupid tubular leg to warp enough to snap. White paint bubbled and flaked; condensing water wisped away like smoke; the metal visibly shrunk, deformed, dented…

But its design was a triumph. The leg held.

Sickening, crawling dread clawed low in Mercury's belly. "I can't… it's not working!"

Venus stamped one wickedly sharp high heel through a prone monster's throat. Her eyes were wide, teeth clenched, chain flickering back and around in elegant arcs, holding the whole pack of them off. She looked like a lady uninterested in details. "_MAKE IT WORK!" _

Mercury's mind raced, dreaming and discarding plans as fast as she could force it to go. She tried slamming more power into the metal; then less. She focused her power into a single tiny point, before trying simply freezing one whole side of the leg. Despite everything, it still held. Mercury's lips drew back in a feeble snarl.

Venus yelped in sudden pain – a high-pitched, surprised sound. Her heavy breathing was now clearly audible, even above the unearthly howling of the monsters. Dark liquid dripped down her aquiline features, red blood streamed from some unseen gash; both liquids mixed to dribble down her front.

Mercury was out of options - she dropped to her knees and fumbled around on the ground. A thumping headache warned her she'd overdone it – her power had torn at her insides, had frayed some fragile connection. _No more power then_. Her fumbling hand closed over a round stone. She hefted it high, slamming it into the thrice-be-damned leg, more out of frustration than anything else. The stone bounced off with a _clooong, _and a rattle that shook her teeth. "Why won't you just _break_?" she screamed, raising the rock for a second try.

The reply was a crash of thunder.

Mercury blinked, eyes watering and ears ringing – the concussion of being so close to lightning. As her hearing returned, slowly to her ears grew the most welcome sound in the entire world– "…yyyyyeeeeeeehhhhHHAAAAAAWWWW!"

Behind _that_ was a blur of white and green, a crackling storm of fighting brunette. It snap-toasted one creature, barrelled recklessly into another, clobbered a third in its dripping maw. That figure punched a path through sickening shapes and each step brought it closer to the beleaguered duo under the grain-silo. With one last flickering flash, Jupiter was there, was beside Mercury_, _her green eyes alight with battle-fire and her hair springing wild from the electricity. She looked deranged. She looked magnificent.

Mercury felt her lips pull back in answer.

The Soldier of Thunder raised her arms, lightning crackling down them to collect like water in her hands. She smiled at Mercury - the beatific smile of someone who excelled at causing mass destruction, who had suddenly been given an opportunity. "It can be a bit tricky if you don't know what you're doing, can't it?"

This whole situation struck Mercury as funny somehow, and she grinned. Her head still felt fusty from the flash-bang effect of the lightning, but she supposed this would go away soon. It was an unimportant thought verses the main one anyway - beside the one thing Mercury absolutely must get done today. "Will you blow up this leg for me?"

Jupiter twirled like the most graceful of performers, spoiling the effect slightly by grunting as she smacked an enemy with a powerful left-handed strike. Her reply was inarticulate.

Mercury was forced to roll away from a threatening shadow, clocking it on the way through with her rather lovely rock. The reedy thread of exhaustion was biting deep. "Please?" she added.

Jupiter snarled a single word. "_Why?_" But even as she asked her hands began to glow with power.

And Mercury smiled.

She staggered to her feet, shaking off the last of the foggy clouds, her voice gaining the crack of command in its urgency; "VENUS! _VENUS! RUN!_"

Their exhausted leader, bleeding from a half-dozen places now, didn't argue. She turned gratefully and fled.

Mercury in turn moved to take her place and face the monsters, prepared to buy time with pain… but Jupiter was having none of it. From behind her came a string of blistering curses, a short, succinct explanation of the effects of electricity on the human body, and rough demand - _"GO!"_

She didn't need to be told twice. Mercury ducked and dived and dodged through the enemy horde like mist flowing around obstacles. Heavy footfalls sounded from behind her, far less regular and interspersed with thick wet sounds – Jupiter was clearly choosing the more direct method back to the others. Venus was just ahead of them, running for the ditch and the mucky figure of Mars. Mars herself was screaming something at them, her face blazing, but Mercury couldn't understand anything said. She only ran faster. Finally, metres away from the safety of the makeshift trench, Mercury heard the footfalls behind her stop. The air around her turned greasy with the now-familiar smell of ozone.

"_Supreme..."_

Mercury made a desperate, running, headlong dive into the muddy ditch, landing on top of Venus – then she was struggling to disentangle herself, pushing and slipping and splashing in the putrid muck of the ditch-floor. Mars' lips were forming words, calling her flame - the intense heat of her power seared off Moon's eyebrows. The Princess paid this no mind, occupied as she was with whacking a monster away - the necessity of her fighting would probably get everyone scolded later. At least there'd _be _a later.

The Princess of Wisdom regained her footing just in time to see Jupiter raise her arms. She immediately (and prudently) slammed shut her eyes.

"…_THUNDER!"_

A flash lit up the world, punching through her closed eyelids to dazzle her eyes anyway; lightning arced out in a glorious stream. Vast amounts of electrical energy encountered cold metal. And the metal _was_ cold – super cold. Mercury had plunged it colder than it had ever been designed for – made it brittle and crumpled; had abused it beyond all reason. Vast amounts of electricity joyfully leapt into that metal.

The metal died explosively.

From immediately above Mercury's position, Jupiter cried out and either fell or was pushed - she toppled into the ditch, in which mud and blood and ichor now mixed freely. Groaning, the silo collapsed – echoing through the air with a strange _bo-oo-oo-om _sound, like a boy violently striking a tin roof. It tilted... teetered... tipped... then with an almighty _crash_ the silo completely let go, and fine, dusty grain spilt out to fill the air. Mercury turned and yelled something, but what she said she didn't really know. Mars cried out something in response. Fire leapt free. The fuel and the oxygen combined with an ignition source to rapidly combust available materials. In plain terms this meant there was a tremendous _fwump_, a concussive shock, and then the heavy smell of ashes.

In the jumble of limbs and muck that was the Guardian Senshi of the Solar System - the finest warriors the Nine Planets could provide - there was a brief moment of contemplative silence. The _tink tink tink _of cooling metal and the smell of fire lingered. Four heads popped cautiously above their makeshift parapet. Four sets of ears heard a pleasing lack of enemy roars; four sets of limbs very carefully hid their trembles of relief. Four pairs of eyes noted the death, the stench, and the mud of their first skirmish.

Jupiter started to snuffle, then chuckle, then laugh. Mercury found to her surprise that she had joined her, merriment contrasting oddly with the tears that streamed down her face. Moon looked at them both. The concern in the Princess' light blue eyes (and her hands tightening about her sceptre) probably meant she was sincerely considering simply Moon Healing Escalation'ing the lot of them, just in case. Mars ignored the hilarity, surveying the field with a calm expression.

The lack of speech was broken, predictably, by their noble leader.

"Ladies," Venus said, in a muffled voice. "Would you please _get off me now?_"

* * *

AN: This chapter is once again dedicated to the Madhattess; it is truly incredible how much this rather excellent and kind lady **does not** remind me of monsters exploding into pools of their own pus. I'd just like that to be clear. (In all truth Taz, thank you so much.) The 'hattess also saved you from hordes of semi-colons, that were threatening to devour the readers. Everyone should be very grateful. Finally: New Zealandisms. You were saved from those too.

As one last note on combat: all the reactions Mercury displays are common responses to seeing the elephant. Obviously, however, I'm willing to be challenged on any point/s. Just PM or leave a review.

Could I pleased add my appreciation of **Sunkissed Sapphire**? I accidentally left some of the 'hattess's editing notes in-text, and this very kind person pointed them out for me. **Facepalms** This is why farmers shouldn't write.


	4. Chapter 4

AN: Probably not mine.

* * *

_What_

Mercury was disquieted.

It was strange disquiet as well – not the library, not the practice yard, not even the glittering ice of the tiny Luna polar caps could give her back her equilibrium. Everyone had noticed. Mars had been less verbally brutal, Venus had pulled her aside to take her shopping, and the Queen had talked to her privately during a lull in court. Young Serenity had just smiled and given her space - but the Moon Princess always smiled and gave space when Mercury might need thinking time. What the Princess thought might need thinking about was a mystery.

It was only on the night when Young Serenity baked a cake that Mercury worked out what she was worried about. Not that the cake was good – oh no, quite the contrary. It was a breathtaking, catastrophic _failure_ of a cake. It was a cake so muddled - so wondrously bad - that even with all the vast powers of Mercury's mind she was bewildered by how Moon had baked it using common cake ingredients. Young Serenity looked happy. Jupiter looked shell-shocked. Venus had fled the moment the mixing bowl had started belching fire.

_You love her. _

That thought popped into Mercury's head just like that. Just popped into her head as she watched a flour-covered Soldier of Thunder chase a paprika-covered Moon Princess around the melted puddle of what had once been a large whisk. No messing around with doubt or fear, no lead-in, no hesitation - the enormous intellect of the finest Mercurian mind of its generation had wended its way inexorably to its conclusion, and that was that.

_You love her._

"Bother," cursed Mercury quietly. "That makes things much harder."

Mars leaned more comfortably against the jam of the door and quirked one dark eyebrow skyward. "You mean the detergent the rabbit just poured all over the floor?"

Mercury focused on the proceedings just long enough to watch Jupiter skid into an unlucky maid, who slid the length of the kitchen before bowling over a gaggle of huddling cooks. She blinked and then nodded. "Much harder."

Mars nodded with world-weary resignation. "Venus bailed."

Both soldiers paused to consider this. Both soldiers sighed wistfully.

"The lucky thing."

"Hmm."

Mercury resigned herself to no more answer than that. The din was almost impenetrable anyway, what with the timer on the big kitchen oven beeping stridently. Apparently whatever horror was in there, it wasn't going to be fixed by simply cooking it more. Moon's face lit up with innocent pleasure as she reached for the oven handle. A dozen fearless cooks leapt instantly to protect her. There was the inevitable collision. The oven door was knocked open. Clouds of dense steam billowed out, wreathing that entire end of the kitchen in fog. Sounds and movement were instantly muffled, their shapes mere silhouettes in the mist. A rhythmic, metallic clanging started - which was suddenly broken by a high-pitched male scream.

Mars straightened resolutely. "Well. I think this is our cue to go to bed."

"You're going to bed?" Mercury blinked in confusion. "It's only 1700 hours."

Mars regarded her steadily. "Do you really want to have to eat anything the rabbit made?"

Mercury considered this briefly. "…that's a very good point."

"I thought so," Mars said, turning to leave. "Oh…you'd better retrieve Jupiter as well."

Mercury frowned and turned, her eyes searching for the familiar shock of brown hair. Jupiter sat slumped in the middle of the floor, a callused hand entirely covering her lower face, her eyes staring unseeingly at the smooth tiles of the floor. Between her and Mercury lay the slick, glistening floor - now dotted with bubbling ruins of previously noble kitchen utensils. Faced with this cruel peril, Mercury's courage failed her. As Mars began to walk away, Mercury's face drew down into an uncharacteristically petulant line, and her voice took on a sharp edge. "Why don't you go and get her?"

Mars didn't even turn around. Hints of dark amusement swirled in her voice. "Because it'd be hard to stay cool and mysterious if I had to cross that floor in these heels."

And then she was gone.

Mercury glared sullenly at the empty corridor for an instant before turning to contemplate her fate. With a little forethought, she eventually decided, crossing the floor could probably be done – avoid that patch of cottage cheese, use the spilt flour as a staging area, scoot very carefully over the grated tomatoes… _yes; it could be done_.

Whatever Mercury needed to do, though, it had to be done quickly. Even as she thought this, a stay carrot flew out of the mist to smack into the wall beside her. It fell to the ground and rolled pathetically. A dazed kitchen-hand inched himself out from under the steam, crawling out on his hands and knees. High-pitched giggling followed him, sounding suspiciously like that one time Moon had accidentally gotten into the stash of cooking sherry.

Yes - it was definitely time to go.

"The things we do for…" Mercury grumbled, setting off to retrieve her very best friend. "If she wasn't the… _certainly _don't get paid enough for… "

Wherever that sentence was going, it was never finished – sliced off by a patch of slippery goo and the suddenly more pressing need to windmill her arms. When she caught her balance again, her inadvertent skid had conveniently brought her three-quarters of the way to her goal, and also covered her in soy sauce. There was just enough time for a couple fervent curses before she reached her Jupiter.

Mercury placed her gentle hand on one broad shoulder. There was no response.

"Jupiter." Mercury wheedled, "Jup – perhaps it's time to go."

Jupiter rolled her green eyes around to rest on Mercury's face, but otherwise there was no other movement.

"I've got some left-over ration-packs in my room…" Mercury continued, coaxingly. "Absolutely no cooking required. Just tear them open and chew. No mixing. No ovens. They taste like _bland_…"

At this last comment a spark of life came into Jupiter's eyes. "No strange spices?" she croaked, in a voice of wonderment. "No weird foreign herbs?"

From behind them (carried on an unnatural breeze) thin flakes of what looked to be dried shrimp floated past them. Mercury carefully did not think about this.

"No spices." Mercury said instead, firmly. "Not even salt. The ration-pack is practically tasteless."

Jupiter considered this for a brief second, then a light shiver ran through her. "Tasteless is good." She rose to her full height like some epic force of nature. Her face shone with vehemence. "Tasteless is very good."

The tall soldier staggered forward towards the door. Mercury made to follow, _knowing_ with all her training and instinct that she needed to take advantage of the favourable tactical situation before something else went wrong.

She should have moved faster.

"MERCURY!" came the high-pitched cry. It rose clear and bright above the noise and clangour of the kitchen. The hearts of all the loyal were filled with dread. "Cake! I made cake! Mercury, Venus, Mars! Come look!"

Mercury was trapped. Jupiter turned, almost colliding with Mercury, her expression that of a woman stoically prepared to suffer. She looked ready to cry. In a sudden flash of deep pity, Mercury realised she had a gift she could bestow – the only thing she could give her beloved this night.

"_Go!_" she hissed, struggling to both lower her blush and simultaneously raise her eyes from her interestingly close view of Jupiter's chest. "_She didn't say your name!_"

Jupiter looked utterly torn… but when Mercury put a firm hand on her stomach and gave her a gentle push, the most loyal of all friends acquiesced.

"I'll make sure I save some of the bland for you." Jup whispered, before she turned and bolted out of the door.

Mercury went to meet her fate.

The Princess had emerged from the steam carrying something amorphous on a large plate. It glistened. It wobbled alarmingly. Moon honestly looked like she was having the time of her life. "Mercury! Look! Look at my cake!" She paused in puzzlement. "Wait… where did the others go?"

Mercury smiled gently and blatantly lied. "They had other things they needed to do, Highness. They had to go."

Moon eyed her suspiciously, but luckily didn't press the issue. "Well… alright then." She peered closer at Mercury, tilting her head to one side and scrunched her brow in real puzzlement. Then she lowered the plate and stepped closer, her face dissolving into a morass of alarm. "What's… what's wrong?"

Her glowing Princess looked ridiculous, covered as she was in flour and cumin - but concern shone sincerely from blue eyes. Mercury smiled at her Princess – her heart and soul, really, if she was honest. "Nothing, Princess."

Moon gave her an unimpressed look. Mercury back-pedalled hastily. "Well… probably nothing."

Moon placed the (for want of a better word) cake carefully on the ground against the wall. Then she sat next to it, and patted the ground beside her in clear invitation. "Try me."

Mercury sat down. The cooks had fled earlier, as soon as an escape route had presented itself. Their privacy was complete. Mercury methodically laid out the problem in her mind, analysing it from several angles. It still made little sense. "I'm really not sure about it even myself, Highness."

Moon considered this. Her hand crept out as if she was going to rest it on Mercury's arm… but it wavered, and instead picked up a cake knife. The steel caught the light from the big ceiling crystals, throwing white crescents onto the walls. "Try me." She repeated.

A sudden insane impulse struck the Princess of Wisdom. She screwed up all her courage. It wasn't enough to make eye contact. Instead she leaned forward onto her knees to trace circular shapes on the dusty floor. As if from far away, Mercury heard herself breathe in, exhale, then speak. "I'm in love with Jupiter."

Moon smiled gently, settling the knife more firmly in her grip. "Yes. I know."

Mercury looked at her with flat incomprehension. "What."

"Of course I know." Moon looked like she was very much suppressing the urge to laugh. "I need to know. I'm the Princess." Her eyebrows crinkled a little in amusement at herself. "That's what I'm for."

Mercury continued to look at her.

Moon turned back to face her, and her expression was laced with nothing but compassion. There was a half-second's silence before she spoke again. "It can be a bit tricky when you don't know what you're doing, can't it?"

Mercury smiled – perhaps a trifle ruefully, but a genuine smile nonetheless. "Yes." She leaned slowly back against the wall. "Yes. It certainly can be."

Silence settled across the pair. Lost in her own personal world, the silence of the empty kitchen soothed her dancing mind. Mercury closed her eyes slowly. "I don't know what to do."

Moon smiled cheerfully. "You always were the brightest of us, you know." The little Princess turned to fumble around behind her. "You'll definitely figure it out eventually. In the meantime though…"

With unmistakable triumph, Moon produced a smallish plate, two spoons, and one quivering slice of her baking efforts. "…you should eat this cake. Cake will cheer you up!"

Mercury was consumed by a deep and desperate dread. Looking into the shining face of her Princess, however, proved her undoing. She could never disappoint. Summoning every scrap of her tremendous courage, she accepted her duty (and her spoon) with valorous fortitude. Mercury took her slice of the cake - it was prodded dubiously. A small piece was loaded onto the spoon, then bitten, chewed, swallowed. The plate was carefully placed aside. Then Mercury buried her face into her hands.

The cake was delicious.

* * *

AN: Reviews, comments, and critiques will be leapt upon and horded like some sort of internet gold.

The dedication is threefold.

Firstly to Taz - who is giving a stubborn flu-bug stout resistance. _What _was a lot different before a rather epic conversation inspired something lighter. Also: her Beta'ing is amazing. It strikes me that I am being extremely unfair gifting her something and then telling her she has to work for it =S Which proves how awesome she is right there. She hasn't hurt me yet.

Secondly to Oncoming Traffic, who gave me an excellent pie recipe which somehow went horribly, horribly wrong. Parts of this story will already be familiar to you.

Thirdly to New Zealand. I know we're all exhausted from the earthquake (a shout-up to any fellow CDers) but we're on top of this now.

Thank you to the reviewer **TheKueken **for pointing out that Jupiter's eyes are not brown, but are actually green. **Facepalms** This mistake is fixed. I will now deny it ever happened. **Furtive glances** ..._because it didn't. _


	5. Chapter 5

AN: _For Taz… _although there have been more appropriate chapters.

**Please be advised** that even after I went over it twice to lighten the tone, _When _is still less fluffy than the others. Folks here for the fluffy should skip forward to _Where. _

Thank you.

* * *

_When_

Blood dripped everywhere. Blood pooled and spread thickly across the black-and-white tiled floor. It had been fought across, splattered along white walls, smeared over smooth surfaces. The hard stone lay covered in bright, fresh blood.

It was mostly hers of course. Not all, but most of it.

The dark-things didn't bleed. That had been a surprise. Even the corrupted animals, with their bodies so rotten it was hard to see their original shape - even they had bled. Not these though. You could render their shape down into so much meat, leaving black chunks of nothing-men littering the floor, and remain perfectly clean.

That almost made it worse. Death should never be clean.

Mercury clutched at the gaping rent in her stomach, clinically marvelling at the sight of organs never meant to be seen under the open sky. Her organised mind identified each of her own innards with detached curiosity. Light from the cracked ceiling crystals sparkled brightly, reflecting off the killing frost she had created. Under it lay twisted forms with human faces.

She was going to die having utterly failed.

Mars had been killed first. There hadn't been any real purpose to it – just one of those accidents that occurred sometimes in war. The Martian Princess had been on the outer wall, rallying the soldiers for the retreat to the inner keep, when the claws of some enemy tore her body entirely in half. She had died instantly.

It was likely that Venus had gone next – Mercury hadn't been there to see that, but surely their leader would have prevented Young Serenity's death somehow if she had been alive. And the Princess was dead - dead and gone, murdered along with her earthling Prince. The hollow ache of Mercury's heart was not a rational way to be sure of this, but it was undeniable nonetheless. Their kingdom was over. The five of them had failed. All the life of the nine worlds would be destroyed and consumed.

And she knew that not all of the blood that coated her was her own.

Jupiter lay dying on the cold stone floor. It was difficult to believe that something so mangled and broken could still be a living human being, but Jupiter had always been tough. The wreckage of her body still twitched.

The companion in Mercury, the comrade, the would-be lover that longed after Jupiter like summer grasses longed for rain – _Mercury-the-friend_ grabbed hold of hope and clung. She wanted to scream for help. She wanted every piece of the vaunted technology of the Moon Kingdom to help her now; to buoy up her Jupiter, to sew her back together again like ripped cloth.

The healer in Mercury knew the patient was doomed.

Jupiter's breathing was harsh and shallow, with each rattle now simply a measure of time slipping away. Her fingers were broken, bent in unnatural, gruesome ways. Her hands, however, still weakly grasped at nothing. Flickers of lightning traced over skin, danced across the pale dips and lands of her face, crackled feebly through bloody, brown hair before fizzling into the ground. She had fought well with that lightning – and when the enemy had come too close for its use, her fearsome strength had been equally deadly. The Soldier of Protection had stood toe to toe with purest evil, and had refused to back up.

Oh, how Mercury wished her beloved had backed up.

Mercury blinked for the merest instant, and when her eyes reopened she was lying full-length on the ground. Numbness crept up her legs. She could no longer move her fingers. In the rest of her body, there was so much pain that the word ceased to have meaning.

"Jup…" she croaked. Her tongue felt thick. Chapped lips framed other words, words she longed to say more than anything, but her well of courage was tapped dry. She let them fall away, unsaid. "Jup…"

There was no response from the other soldier. Blood-loss, for a mercy, had left her cataleptic. Just as well. The enemy had methodically broken Jupiter, had peeled her skin away, had butchered her meat and broken her bones. Just as well she wasn't awake. Her breath was quicker now though, and shallower. Not long to go.

Mercury blinked again, slowly. She was going to die here. She knew this. She was afraid. She was so afraid that she no longer had control over her own body – it shivered and dry-heaved, flooding itself with adrenaline, trembling against the ground. Her famous intellect was silent bar one last idea – an idea which now consumed it. Mercury, her eyes wide and slightly unseeing, didn't want to die alone.

She flattened one hand on the ground, holding in her guts with the other. Then she gripped, pulling along the stone floor, dragging herself closer. She crawled slowly, ever so slowly, shunting aside hunks of dead Twisted and ignoring the splatters of human blood. It was an effort, and Mercury was tired.

She blinked again, and when she woke up her head was once again resting on the cold tiles. Jupiter was still. Mercury made one final effort, desperate to confess, to die with at least that one thing done. A shaking hand reached out, sought life. Found nothing.

But Jupiter was still warm, and that was comforting.

Mercury lay down her head and expired without a whimper.

Their age was over.

* * *

AN: Less fluffy. Still better than the first draft. But then; the silver millennium ended badly. This project isn't about sugar-coating that – but _it is_ about questions, and there is one more to go.

If you'd like to leave a review of this chapter then I would be especially appreciative, because this was hopefully something a little different.

Thank you to **Sunkissed Sapphire** for a rather excellent suggestion with regards to one of the lines; she was so right, and I jumped to take her advice. Thank you.


	6. Interlude

AN: For the **Madhattess**; no, this wasn't what you were expecting. That is because you're right, like you're normally right, and I've got to go away and think.

And this is also for **The Kueken** - and partly written by her as well - because someone to both help and listen can make all the difference sometimes.

Disclaimer: Not mine.

* * *

"_What is this place?"  
_"_Perhaps, my love, 'what' may be the wrong question. I don't think this _is _a place."  
_"_Well… why here, then?"  
_"_That… doesn't seem right either."_

"_How did we get here?"  
_"_Silly thing; we died. Don't you remember that?"  
_"_Yes. But I wish I didn't."_

_"It's done now. That one is over. I'll make it up to you."  
__"How will you? What? When?"  
__"All those questions, my love...but shouldn't that be 'where'?"_

* * *

AN 2: A thousand rabid wolves devour this blasted site's formatting system. Trust me; I know what I want the page to look like. Let me make the page look like that. Stupid, stubborn thing.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Nope, not mine. Sunrise. It's the boss.

* * *

_Where._

The first thing anyone noticed when entering the school library was that it was cold. Deliciously cold.  
The chill felt good.

To venture Outside at the moment was to be mired in a kind of sticky, damp warmth; a Turkish bath that one (unfortunately) had to keep their clothes on for. For Ami, even the scurry from the classrooms had been unpleasant. Water loved her – wanted to be close to her. This was an especially un-ideal state of affairs while Ami was wearing the white school uniform shirt.

The library air conditioning was a joy then – not even its maddening hum could deaden her appreciation of it.

In the distance rumbled thunder, and Ami smiled ruefully. So she wouldn't be the only Senshi today cursing the weather.

_Mako. _

Her spirits leapt at the direction of her thoughts, and Ami involuntarily smiled again. Naturally she was aware - _of course_ - that her feelings towards her friend were changing – had noticed the prompting of her own eyes and the beating of her own heart. It simmered on the edges of her awareness; the mellow, golden notes of a winding melody.

_But none of this is helping me understand bio-chemistry._

Ami turned to her book. With an eager hand (_nothing wrong with being interested) _she flipped open the section on enzyme kinetics, reverently smoothing the pages flat.

Makoto hadn't noticed yet; that much was obvious. Ami carefully selected a pencil. She was comfortable with that obviousness – satisfied, after a lifetime of uncertainty, at living with a little more. Rei shot her knowing looks every so often, which never failed to amuse, but couldn't provoke. Minako gave her books she'd had to hastily hide from her mother. Usagi kept giving her space.

But she could wait. Hazy memories suggested that she already had, after all. Time clearly wasn't important in this case.

_Enough of that! To work!_

Head down, tail up. Ami allowed her world to be subsumed by paper – by the thick sunlight slanting through oblong windows, the percussive footfalls of the other patrons, and the light smell of creaky bindings. In her hands lay the comfortable weight of the science workbook, the pages dog-eared and creased, lines of neat pencil-marks marching across working space. Her eye flickered to the next problem – an easy one, a progress curve… the pencil flicked in the familiar symbols…

…_sparkling columns rose into the air, twisting forms and fantastic shapes. Inside came the reflected light, channelled through the crystals of the ceiling. The familiar was like the taste of déjà vu, lingering like ice on the tip of Mercury's tongue… _

… Ami blinked the vision away. Her pencil wrote the 'n-b' defiantly. Another half-memory, timeless,bothering her with what had been- best left alone and forgotten. She was Ami now, and more than Ami; she was _herself_ - two lifetimes echoing down her soul and melding at each step.

Something in her flickered. Ami lowered the pencil and smiled again, waiting.

_Makoto-chan is here_.

And then she was - rose-earrings, calloused hands, and frazzled hair. Stifling her amusement at the last point, Ami leaned back, taking the opportunity to admire the clean limbs, the feminine curves of her.

When their eyes met, Mako was flushing red. Her eyes reflected utter confusion.

Ami's eyebrows rose in startlement. _Well_ _that's new._

Mako's hands clenched into fists, and then relaxed. She swayed slightly, shifting her weight from foot to foot. She opened her mouth as if to speak, and then shut it again.  
And Ami listened to the words she didn't say.

_Oh, my beloved Mako-chan. It's hard when you don't know what you're doing.  
_And then Ami felt her lips curved into a smile again – a slightly smug, slightly predatory smile.

_Let me help you then._

The book was nudged aside, the pencil rolling away along the table.  
_I've loved you for two lifetimes_

Mako took a small, almost inaudible huff of breath, and swayed away.  
_And you've loved me too._

The chair was pushed back.  
_We've died together._

It scraped loudly across the linoleum floor.  
_We've also lived._

And Ami Mizuno rose to her feet, as unstoppable as the onset of winter

Makoto-chan was as still as stone, _her Mako-chan, _her brave and strong and noble Mako-chan, now hers in truth. Ami's eyes never left her beloved's face. The taller girl's throat was working as if against a frog, and the expression on her face was just shy of terrified. Makoto's eyes were speaking though, even if her voice wasn't.

_Things were normal. Now they aren't.  
__The world that I knew has changed._

And Ami smiled another smile; a secret one, subtle.

Hands moved to close the textbook with a heavy _whump. _Dust motes swirled in the air, dancing in and out of sight. The long lance of sunshine fell between them on the reading table. The air conditioner hummed.

"Not here." Ami opined, casually.

Green eyes blinked at her, and on an expressive face puzzlement mixed freely with trepidation. Ami stretched languidly, relaxed and easy. "Not here."

_I won't be hidden. No love should be tucked away in some safe place where no one can see. Not from either of us. _

_I won't make that mistake again. _

Then her arms reached out, sought, _found_. A warm shape was pulled close; it stiffened, it shook, and then it relaxed into acceptance. Time once againdisappeared; a new kind of peace spread out – washing away doubt, and fear; dissolving a sorrow she never knew she had until it was gone. Ami and the echo of Ami both sighed in contentment.

Blue eyes stole a sneaking glance upward. Mako was pointedly studying the buzzing neon bulb that served as the light in this section of the stacks. Broad hands crept further around Ami's back, tentative, soft.

Ami smiled a secret smile. "Not here," she breathed, "but everywhere."

THE END.

_...I send them over land and sea,  
I send them east and west;  
But after they have worked for me,  
__I__ give them all their rest._

_-Kipling, The Elephant Child_

* * *

AN: This is **for Taz** - a rather remarkable person. I'm not entirely sure if you liked this, Taz, and you've been a dashed good sport about the Beta'ing (what superlative Beta'ing!) - please accept my truly sincere regards nonetheless.

This is also (presumptuously) for a young lady I have never met, and in all probability likely never will. Regardless, this is for **Jodi**, on behalf of another young lady; might I add that we should all be so lucky. ^^

IF YOU WANT SOMETHING WRITTEN MUCH, MUCH BETTER, REMOVE THE SPACES AND GO HERE:  
http : / www . fanfiction. net/s/6832223/1/Two_Bodies

Finally; my own thoughts. Firstly: Arrrrrgh, fluffy, fluffy, it burns!  
Secondly: Yes, it was late. Life exploded into insanity, as it does. ^^

**Reviews are always loved, replied to, and coveted.**


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